Nautical Baby Quilt

Once in a while, I get a chance to give a baby gift that fits in well with the theme that the parents and grandparents are doing the nursery in. This was one of those really fun times!

My friend Regina’s son, TJ, recently got married and is expecting a baby with his wife, Brittany. We are all so excited for their little family and also for Regina and Terry to be grandparents for the first time. Never have people been so excited to welcome a new baby into this world! Their enthusiasm and love is absolutely contagious and it makes it such fun to make a special gift.

Anchor fabrics from the back and front of the quilt.

I had been stalking Regina’s Pinterest account for a while and knew that she had pinned lots of ideas for her grandson’s nursery. I knew I wanted to make something for this baby, but couldn’t quite decide which direction to go in. Fortunately, Regina and Brittany met me for lunch one day, a couple of weeks ago, and told me all about their nursery plans. That certainly made it far easier to know exactly what kind of look and color scheme they were going for. So, with about 2 weeks to spare, I started shopping for fabric.

The final decision was something in red, white, and blue with a nautical theme. Regina mentioned anchors and I saw them in a few of her Pinterest posts, so that is what I started looking for in fabric. Some fabrics I found had both navy and lighter blues in addition to the red and white. While I liked those, for the front of the quilt, I wanted a very crisp, patriotic color scheme. Having been born while my father was in the Navy, serving in Brunswick, Georgia, I love the nautical theme and knew exactly what I wanted to capture in fabric.

The completed quilt.

Eventually, I found a navy fabric with a white, anchor print, plain (crisp) white muslin, and a mottled true red. Binding called out for a very tailored red and white stripe and for backing I found a busy, anchor print with both navy and light blues mixed in with red and white.

The top is made from 12 inch stripes (width of fabric) of the navy anchor print and white muslin fabrics. On the lower right hand corner, I machine appliqued an anchor in place. It was a bit nerve wrecking because I had always shied away from machine applique, but it turned out pretty well, I think.

I neglected to get a photo of the beautiful mom-to-be with the quilt, so I can’t share one here, but I am sure that as soon as I can, I will get one of the nursery and that precious baby boy in it!

All in all, the quilt seemed to be a big hit and matches several other items that were made for nursery, so it will be a good fit with the theme of the room. The best part, though, will be welcoming a new little friend into the world.

I make lots of different things for baby gifts. Do you have a go-to baby gift?